Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water
| The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding scientific contributions related to surface water, ground water, alternative (non-traditional) water resources, and water conservation. The Prize also awards a Creativity Prize to an innovative work in any water-related field. |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Presented by | The PSIPW Prize Council |
| First awarded | 2004 |
| Official website | Official website |
The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) is a Saudi Arabian scientific prize, established on 21 October 2002 by Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The Prize has its headquarters at the Prince Sultan Research Center for Environment, Water and Desert (PSRCEWD) at King Saud University.
It is a bi-annual international scientific award that accepts nominations from all over the world. For its third round (2006-2008) the Prize received 198 nominations from 53 countries, with the Creativity Prize, worth more than a quarter of a million dollars, receiving 73 of those nominations.
PSIPW offers five distinct prizes. One million Saudi Riyals (about $266,000) is allocated for the Creativity Prize, while half a million Saudi Riyals (about $133,000) is allocated for each of the other four Specialized Prizes. The Prize is accompanied by a gold medallion, a trophy and a certificate.
The five prizes are as follows:
Specialized Prizes:
During the first two awards of the Prize (2002-2004) and (2004-2006) there were five specialized prizes, since "Water Resources Management" and "Water Resources Protection" were awarded separately. These two prizes were combined after the Second Award and the "Water Management and Protection Prize" was awarded for the first time with the Third Award (2006-2008). The Creativity Prize was inaugurated for the Third Award (2006-2008).
The Creativity Prize is not restricted to specific topics. Instead, its criteria are defined by general guidelines. This allows the Creativity Prize to cover a broad range of interdisciplinary water-related subjects.
The Creativity Prize is awarded to work that the Prize Committee deems to be a "breakthrough" in any water-related field. The work might be an invention, a research paper, a new technology, or a development project. It can relate to any branch of any water-related discipline. It might contribute to increasing available water resources, or to alleviating scarcity, or to minimizing pollution. It might make a material contribution to water conservation or to effective water management. The work should provide a solution which is useful to society, contribute to development and social upliftment, be practical, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective.
The topic for each of the four specialized prizes used to vary with each award. For example, in one round of the Prize, the Surface Water topic might be "Flood Control". In other rounds, the topic might be "Rainwater Harvesting", "Sedimentation Control", "Space Technology Applications" or some other topic related to surface water issues. The same applied to the other three specialized prizes. However, the topic for the third specialized branch – alternative (non-traditional) water resources – will most frequently be related to desalination.
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